The reimagined West High School will be both ultramodern and deeply rooted in its 100-year history, according to initial design plans unveiled Tuesday evening.

New academic buildings, planned for the opposite side of 300 West, will incorporate a color palette inspired by the old building’s maroon bricks. Through floor-to-ceiling windows in the new commons area, students and staff will be able to see the preserved facade of West High’s original main entrance, which will instead welcome Panthers fans to the future football stadium.

West High students and their families Tuesday evening were the first to see renderings of the brand-new campus, revealed during a school open house.

The reveal comes nearly a year after voters approved a $730 million bond to fund “much-needed” upgrades at both West and Highland High School. Designs for Highland’s new campus in Sugar House were unveiled Monday during a separate school open house.

[Read more: First look: Highland High School is getting a massive revamp. Here’s what’s planned.]

West High’s portion of construction costs are estimated to run around $304 million, officials with VCBO Architecture, the firm hired by the district to lead the school’s redesign, previously told The Salt Lake Tribune.

The school’s current baseball field, track and tennis courts are where West High’s new academic buildings will be constructed. The future campus will also feature high-tech “learning dens” and an auditorium capable of seating 1,100 people.

A new athletic complex will also be built adjacent to the academic area, closer to the south end of the property. It’ll include a large gymnasium and a field house equipped with synthetic turf.

On the opposite side of the street (where West’s academic buildings currently sit), the brand-new football stadium will sit behind West’s historic main entrance, which architects said will remain intact.

A sky bridge will connect both sides of campus, allowing students to safely walk back and forth.

“We wanted to make sure that we were honoring [West’s] heritage but not replicating it,” VCBO architects told The Tribune before the open house. “We’re integrating those components that are so important to West High on the exterior of the building, but we’re also looking inward to say, how can we preserve and acknowledge what was the history of West?”

The new building should see plenty of natural light and will have classrooms built for multiple uses, a feature also incorporated into Highland’s plans.

Like at Highland, multiple teachers will be able to use West High’s classrooms. That means instead of assigning one teacher to each classroom, teachers can have a separate office and move between two or three classrooms throughout the day, similar to a collegiate environment.

The district is already preparing to train educators on best practices for the planned system, school district spokesperson Yándary Chatwin said Monday.

Construction schedule

West’s construction will be completed in two phases, according to architects. The new academic buildings will be constructed during Phase 1, which is slated to begin in November. It’s expected to wrap up by June 2030.

If all goes as planned, crews will then begin Phase 2, which involves moving students into the new school and tearing down the existing one. That phase is estimated to be done by June 2032.

In total, architects anticipate a seven-year timeline, but students won’t have to move to portables at any point.

Avoiding portables was a key factor in the Salt Lake City Board of Education’s decision to pursue the current rebuild plan.

In 2022, the school board commissioned two separate feasibility studies for West and Highland high schools. The studies were carried out by different architectural firms, with multiple community and staff meetings held to gather input. The district also surveyed residents, gathering over 2,000 responses.

West High was Utah’s first public high school, founded in 1890. The building that stands today was constructed in 1922.

Many residents wanted district officials to preserve the building in its entirety.

The district explored that option, but found doing so would have cost upward of $412 million. It also would have taken 8½ years, and students would have had to be in portables for the majority.

Board members finalized plans for Highland and West high schools last December, after voters a month earlier approved the bond to fund the rebuilds.